"A great reimagining of the arcade classic"

In the future the world has been ravaged by war and lies in ruins, and there are very few survivors left. Giant bugs roam the land, and they are attacking the few outposts that house survivors. Max is a bug slayer, and he is out killing bugs when he runs into a girl named Maisy that is taking care of gardens. Max must protect Maisy as the girl tends to her gardens before returning home.

The story is interesting and decent, but the only problem I have with it is the ending which is unsatisfying. It leaves hanging for a sequel that probably never happen due to the finical situation of Atari. That said the characters are really not that developed over the course of the game.

Graphic wise Centipede: Infestation is average at best, and the 3D effects are minimal. The only 3D effects I found to be impressive was when sun ray and spider web come down from the ceiling. The only major problem with the graphics is that sometimes enemies can blend into the background along with their projectiles. The cut scenes in the game are animated similar to a Saturday morning cartoon, and they do not look too bad. Sometimes the animation can be jerky, but I do not know if this was done intentionally.

The music is mainly dub step, and while it does not sound bad, it is forgettable. Sound effects are decent except for a certain enemy that makes a grating noise when it is shot that is annoying.

Centipede: Infestation plays like an old school shooter in the veins of Robotron, Smash TV, and Total Carnage. The circle pad moves the character while the A/B/X/Y is used to shot Right/Down/Up/Left respectively. The controls are solid, and the layout is good. It does not take too much time to get used to the control scheme or learn the controls. The bottom screen is used for score, lives, and current power ups (up to 4 at a time).

Each level takes place in a swamp, desert, train, cave, building, roof, or train station, and most of the levels are squares with enemies that attack from all sides with the main objective mainly being to kill all enemies. However there are a few levels that have different objectives like reach the exit, protect Maisy, or beat a boss.

The main weapon for Max is a peashooter that is very weak however there are power-ups that can be obtained that include ice, fire, machine gun, beam, or rockets. These power ups are especially useful in boss fights and can help clear out monsters if they player is getting overwhelmed. There is also a stomp move which can kill smaller enemies, but it can only be used once the meter appears under Max. Also the stomp attack is useful to use when the player is about to get hit since Max is invincible during the stomp animation.

There is a nice variety of enemies in Centipede: Infestation ranging from spiders, scorpions, beetles, wasps, centipedes, and more. A few of the enemies die without too much hassle however a few can break up into smaller enemies, and unfortunately these smaller enemies can sometimes blend into the grounds making it tough to see them and lead to some cheap deaths. Speaking of death, for each level the player gets 9 lives on easy and it decreases by three for each difficulty, and taking one hit is instant death however there is a shield power up that allows Max to take a few extra hits before dying.

The single player campaign is about 40 levels long, and along the way there are a few boss fights. Most of the boss fights are not bad except for Queen Wasp which is a cheap boss fight. Her attacks are very difficult to avoid, and at the same time Max is being attacked by smaller wasps that blend into the backgrounds. Also every boss fight does have the same problem which is that they drag on for way to long most notable is the above Queen Wasp fight and also a spider boss fight.

After beating the game, there is still plenty to do including concept art, music, bonus characters, and weapons to unlock. There are also accomplishments to complete which also unlock bonus content, and there is even co-op however two copies of the game and two 3DS are needed. Also it would have been nice if the original arcade game would have been included.

The game is solid, but it does have a few issues. Several times I noticed slowdowns when there were a lot of bugs on the screen. Also some of the enemies have projectiles that can be tough to dodge or even blend into the backgrounds.

Centipede Infestation is a great old school shooter that feels right at home on the 3Ds thanks to the short levels that make it great for gaming on the go.